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Timely hitting and clutch pitching helped the Elgin Wildcats varsity baseball team earn back-to-back victories over the Weiss Red Wolves last week.
The home-and-home series sweep lifted Elgin to a 7-7-1 overall record and 2-2 district play scorecard, with Georgetown on the horizon Tuesday, March 25, followed by a road matchup against the Eagles Friday, March 28.
Game 1
Senior Jalen Owens scored on a throwing error in the bottom of the seventh to hand Elgin a dramatic 3-2 walkoff win in its March 18 opener.
Runs were scarce, as both starters limited offensive opportunities.
Senior Jack Grames went the distance on the mound, yielding two runs and striking out seven.
Weiss held a 1-0 lead through the third after an Elgin error, and neither team added to the board until the bottom of the sixth, when Trey Flores ripped a two-run double, putting the Wildcats ahead 2-1.
Although Weiss tied the game in the top of the seventh, Elgin capitalized on a miscue in the bottom half to secure the walk-off.
Game 2
The Wildcats completed the series sweep March 20 with an 8-7 win in a back-and-forth affair.
Elgin took an early 1-0 advantage off Grames’s RBI single, but Weiss jumped in front 3-1 behind consecutive Wildcat errors.
Undeterred, Elgin plated three runs in the second, highlighted by an RBI double from Flores and an RBI single by senior Tyson McFarlin, regaining the lead at 4-3.
After tacking on another run in the third to go up 5-3, Elgin gave up three runs to Weiss in the bottom half, falling back behind.
Both offenses cooled until the fifth, when the Wildcats cashed in three runs off RBI singles by senior Carson Nalle and sophomore Alejandro Ramirez to reclaim an 8-6 edge.
Junior Bryce Barron slammed the door in the final 1 ¹⁄₃ innings, picking up the save without allowing a hit.
